Making Juice
Posted by vegbacnluva on Jun 15, 2007 · Member since Mar 2005 · 20 posts
I would like to make my own fruit and vegetable juices, but I don't have a juicer. Is there another method I can use? I don't really know how else, but...beh, maybe you guys do! Also, how long does fresh juice last? Must you use it right away or can you store it for a day or two? I may just buy a juicer if all else fails- I just want to make it simple!
if you're using relatively soft fruit like berries, peaches, melon, kiwi, soft pears, etc, you could probably press them (in chunks for bigger things) through a fine gauge mesh sieve, into a bowl, very effectively. i've done this with cooked fruits for sauces with no problems, so raw soft stuff should be fine too. you could just use the back of a big spoon or your fingers to squidge the juice through the seive mesh, and the fibre would be trapped (i'd use the fibre in muffins or something if you didn't wanna waste it). even grated apples and shredded pineapple would probably work like this... and obviously tomatoes, cucumbers, and the like would be fine.
an even more basic method would be to use a piece of muslin or cheesecloth, made into a kinda bag- throw the fruit into the middle of a piece, and pick up the corners, and do up the drawn together sides with an elastic band or bit of string or something to make a kinda piping bag device- and squeese the juice out into a big bowl.
i'm pretty sure that juice will start loosing vitamins as soon as its exposed to the air, but stored in a jar or covered jug in the fridge, it won't go mouldy or bad or anything for a few days.
can i advise against making a great deal of neat watermelon juice- me and my bf did this last summer, with a proper juicer- and from one melon, we had jugs and jugs and jugs of sticky pink water that didn't taste very melony, and a very sticky, very wet, very pink kitchen. nightmare stuff. ;D
baypuppy: I live in Upstate New York, a little place called Endicott. It's truly in the middle of nowhere land! hehe. I like it though, it's got alot of farm stands around for fresh fruits and veggies and herbs.
Thanks for the tips, both of you, and the warning about the watermelon juice! I would have totally tried watermelon with that, because I love watermelon! hehe.
Oh yeah, my parents had a Vitamix. That machine rocked, but since I don't live with them anymore, I have to find my own way. I had a Jack Lalane juicer, but, like baypuppy said, it made alot of waste- and you can use so much of the peel of most fruit for a good fiber source. Plus, I somehow lost it when I moved- might be in my parents basement..lol. I liked the idea of using the left over fibers in muffins though. I'd like to make a nice carrot type of muffin like that.
dude, where are you in NY?
it is possible to make juice without one. i've read that you can cut veggies/fruit up finely in a food processor and then put them in a bag and "sqeeze" all the juice you can out.
if i was going to get something to make juice, i would get a vitamix or other blender that can juice whole foods. i like the idea of juice-- i like juice!! but i don't like the waste that comes with juicing. i have a juicer and i rarely use it because i feel it is wasteful.
I like the vitamix for soups and ice cream but I feel the juicer is way better for vegetable juicing, even though you lose some pulp the juice comes out refined but very wholesome. Trust me, You don't lose out on anything when it comes to how fast the nutrients hit you body and you can juice up 8 vegatbles in a matter of seconds. You need to drink it right away for best results but you can also chill in the refrigerator.
Raw juicing is the best. Anything is better than cooking you vegetables to death. Of course you should still always have cooked vegetables with your meals.
Also some pulps you can use for facials but don't put anything on you face though or may have a reaction.
My favorite book for juicing is Cherie Calbom's book (Juice Lady) on juicing for high level wellness. She used to have a juicer but it's no longer manifactured.
;D Yeah, that's true, it is near Penn. I am FROM wayyy up North though, so I guess I am used to saying it. I always feel like I should specify because when people see that I am from NY, they automatically think I am from NYC.
Does anyone know if you can freeze juiced vegetable? Say, spinach, for instance?
I bought a HUMONGOUS bag of spinach at Costco yesterday. I mean, enormous. Even if I juiced every day, ate spinach salad every lunch and cooked it for dinner every night, I don't think we'd finish it before it goes bad. Not to mention that it takes up a full shelf in the fridge.
Can I juice it, alone or in combination with other things, and then just freeze it in smaller containers to add to other juicings later? Or add to soups, or whatever.
I hate frozen spinach, so I don't really want to freeze the leaves. But I hate wasting food!
Thanks!
ugh.. frozen spinach juice? sounds nasty. i'd prepare it in things like lasagna and freeze that.
baypuppy: I live in Upstate New York, a little place called Endicott. It's truly in the middle of nowhere land! hehe. I like it though, it's got alot of farm stands around for fresh fruits and veggies and herbs.
ha, i checked out where it is on a map (i'm in the capital region). dude, if that is "upstate" then i live in canada :D
i love how everything that isn't NYC is "upstate". humm, google put endicott near pen!
I'm in the capital region as well! This is my favorite:
"Where are you from?"
"New York."
"Awwww, it must be cool to live in the city!"
"Sure, I guess. I live in upstate New York."
"Ohhhhhh ???"